HARBOR SPRINGS — The Harbor Springs Public Schools Board of Education met early on Monday, June 23 to discuss their next steps following the resignations of Superintendent Brad Plackemeier and Athletic Director Anna Novak last week.
The resignations come just weeks after a controversial decision not to renew the coaching contracts of John Flynn, the boys basketball coach, and Amy Flynn, the girls basketball coach.
On Monday, the board worked through separate plans for filling the food service director and athletic director positions, with a goal of having applications close on July 4 and plans to hold interviews the week of July 7. The goal is to hire for those positions during the board’s July 14 meeting.
Hiring committees will be set up prior to interviews, and community members, administrators and board members are likely to be included.
Board member Charlie Hollerith walked the district through the different processes of hiring a superintendent. He said the plan is to use one of two search firms, either the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) or Michigan Leadership Institute (MLI). Hollerith said both search firms know they would like to hire a one-year interim superintendent to ensure the board is able to take their time looking for the district’s next leader.
Hollerith added that both MASB and MLI are willing to present to the school board and speak with them about what a search would look like through their firm. Both firms lead most superintendent searches in the state, but Hollerith said if there are other firms the district would like to explore, they can.
“In talking with both search firms regarding our search, obviously to get this done by Sept. 1 is going to be extremely difficult, so that’s why were looking for an interim superintendent,” Hollerith said. “I think most people would agree to take our time and to make sure we get the right person for the job. If that means we have to have an interim for a year, so be it.”
Board vice president Diane Novak said she was impressed by the MASB process, which was used in another recent superintendent search.
In the meantime, the board approved a motion for the district’s Chief Financial Officer Rod Fullerton to serve as acting superintendent. The motion passed 5-0. Board president Paul Fairbairn and board trustee Brad Backus were not at the meeting.
The board of education accepted resignations from Plackemeier and Novak during a special morning meeting held Thursday, June 19.
Plackemeier took over the role in 2022 after Michael Behrmann’s resignation.
Prior to serving as superintendent, Plackemeier worked in the district for five years, three as the middle school principal and two as the high school principal. Prior to coming to the district, he worked as a principal at various schools in Kansas and Missouri, as well as a dean of students, athletic director and teacher, according to past reporting from the News-Review.
Plackemeier was hired to serve as the high school principal and athletic director at Central Lake Public Schools on Monday, June 23.
Multiple community members spoke during the public comment portions of Monday’s meeting, asking for greater transparency from the board and better communication, saying they think further conversation could help combat superintendent turnover.
— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @KarlyGrahamJrn.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Harbor Springs discusses next steps in hiring after superintendent, AD resign
Reporting by Karly Graham, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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